Heaptalk, Jakarta — Singapore-based investment company AVPN has launched the AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, worth US$15 million, with the support of Google.org and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This fund will equip Asia’s workforce with essential AI knowledge and tools required for the evolving work landscape, ensuring that jobs and roles presented by AI are accessible, specifically to those from underserved societies.
According to the President of Google Asia-Pacific, Scott Beaumont, “AI presents tremendous opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region, but it is crucial to equip people with the skills needed to thrive. This new AI Opportunity Fund in Asia Pacific will help to empower underserved communities and ensure everyone benefits from the transformative power of AI,”
The fund will be available through open calls to identify and select the non-profit organizations, social enterprises, and workforce associations in Asia-Pacific that meaningfully reach the workers’ workforces that AI’s workforce transitions will most impact. Selected organizations will receive comprehensive support, including guidance, financial support, and tailored AI training based on foundational AI courses that Google and its external partners designed.
According to the PwC survey, Asia-Pacific employers are confident in AI’s potential to boost productivity. Over the next five years, around 93% expect to use Gen AI tools, with several offering salary bumps of up to 44% for workers with AI skills. While employees perceive AI positively, the firm found that 16% of those surveyed believed AI could replace their jobs.
AVPN CEO Naina Subberwal Batra explained that building an AI-ready workforce is an essential social mandate for businesses and governments. It can unlock Asia’s full workforce potential, considering this region will have around 165 million working-age people by 2030.
“I perceive the urgency for such an enablement initiative as the new world work realities unfold, and we start to see the socioeconomic impact of AI work transition on workers with limited support to adapt and catch up. AVPN will leverage the knowledge and reach of impact organizations that are already actively working on the ground to bridge the gaps for an AI Workplace Just Transition and to ensure that the benefits of AI work opportunities reach more of our workers,”
As one of the most significant investors in Asia, AVPN aims to increase the flow and effectiveness of financial, human, and intellectual capital in Asia. The firm comprises over 600 founders and resource providers across 33 markets. As an ecosystem builder, AVPN enables its members to connect, learn, act, and lead across key pillars and improve the effectiveness of deployed capital, bringing local field needs, regional expertise, and policy insight to the forefront.
